Rose Abernathy

Game programmer & indie developer

Ludum Dare is a 2-day game jam that happens three times a year. I've participated in it four times, and always have a great time. Whether you already make games or have never tried it before, a game jam is a great chance to get something, no matter how rough, out there. If you tend to start and then abandon complex game ideas without actually finishing anything, like I do, then LD is useful because you have to publish your game when the time is up, so you'd better get it working.

After the jump, a quick overview of what I've learned from doing Ludum Dare.

Here are three of the four games I've made for Ludum Dare in chronological order. The fourth game still needs to be fixed before I post it here. Busy King, my most successful entry, was voted #4 in Innovation 174 jam entries. I've never been able to do that well again, but I'm starting to figure this thing out. Here are my tips:

Pull inspiration from source besides the theme. I think that Busy King and Tinyville Confidential are more successful because they use the themes "Alone" and "Tiny World" creatively; but Poggle Island and City Sucker are much more boring interpretations of "Evolution" and "You are the villain". The only way to get those innovative ideas is to let your mind wander: Busy King was inspired by the TV show Merlin, and Tinyville Confidential from what I had heard of J.K Rowling's new book on small-town intrigue!

Balance time, fun, and creativity: I always try to finish within the 2-day "compo", but end up stretching my time into the 3-day "jam". With City Sucker, my only goal was to finish a fun game within 2 days - but I neglected to add any interesting or creative aspects, and the game suffers for it. If it takes 3 days to make a game that fun, innovative, and polished, then take 3 days.

Make a game that is playable on the web: Many players are too lazy to download your game, or don't have the right OS. Part of Ludum Dare is getting feedback on your games, so be sure to make it as easy for your players as possible. The only exception is if you really want to learn a new language or platform - that's why I made City Sucker in Lua.